Good News: NBC Networks Increase TV Coverage Of Olympic Trials With More Prime-Time NBC Coverage, Including Men’s 10,000m Final Live On NBC

Good news, track and field fans. USATF and NBC announced today the TV schedule for the 2016 Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene and there will be 3.5 more hours of TV coverage overall than for the 2012 Trials and more coverage on flagship station NBC versus the less widely watched NBCSN.

Distance fans are in for a shocker. NBC has decided to broadcast the men’s 10,000m final live on NBC the first night, plus the men’s shot put final. We double checked. It’s not April 1st yet.

(The schedule is a bit different this year with the women’s 10,000m on Day 2 Saturday, and the women’s 100m final shifted to Sunday the same day as the men’s 100m final).

For the sport to grow it needs to be on TV before a large audience and the good news is NBC in 2016 will broadcast six sessions live on NBC (five in prime time) vs. four in 2012. The rest of the coverage will be on NBCSN. NBC added the opening day Friday session featuring the men’s 10k and shot put to its lineup and also part of the the Friday July 8th session (men’s steeple and women’s 100m hurdle final) to its prime-time lineup.

Overall 16.5 hours will be on NBC and NBCSN this year vs. 13 hours in 2012 according to this schedule.

NBC Olympics to present extensive and unprecedented coverage of the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Track & Field

STAMFORD, Connecticut — NBC Olympics will present an unprecedented 76 hours of coverage of the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials across NBC, NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra – including more than 60 hours of coverage in prime time – in the months leading up to the Games of the XXXI Olympiad in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

NBC Olympics will provide 16.5 hours of Trials coverage in the semifinals and finals of track and field events, including seven prime-time telecasts, five on NBC. Coverage begins on Friday, July 1, at 9 p.m. ET on NBC, with the finals in men’s shot put and 10,000m. NBC’s coverage continues Saturday, July 2 at 2 p.m. ET, with the finals in women’s 10,000m, long jump, and discus, and continues on NBCSN at 5 p.m. ET with coverage of the decathlon.

NBC’s coverage on Sunday, July 3, at 7 p.m. ET features the finals in men’s and women’s 100m and 400m, men’s long jump, and women’s high jump. The action shifts to NBCSN on Monday, July 4, at 7 p.m. ET with the finals in men’s and women’s 800m, as well as the men’s pole vault and javelin. NBCSN’s presentation on Thursday, July 7, at 8 p.m. ET includes the finals in women’s steeplechase, shot put, and triple jump.

NBCSN’s Trials coverage on Friday, July 8, begins at 6 p.m. ET, showcasing the semifinals of men’s 1,500m, women’s 100m hurdles, and men’s and women’s 400m hurdles, and continues on NBC at 8 p.m. ET with the finals of women’s 100m hurdles, and men’s discus & steeplechase. NBC’s coverage on Saturday, July 9, at 8 p.m. ET includes the finals in men’s 110m hurdles, 200m, 5,000m, triple jump, and women’s javelin. Sunday’s coverage will highlight the finals in the men’s and women’s 1,500m, men’s and women’s 400m hurdles, women’s 200m, and men’s high jump.

NBC Olympics’ 76 hours of comprehensive coverage marks the most ever for the U.S. Olympic Trials, topping the 67.5 hours of coverage in 2012.

All of NBC Olympics’ U.S. Trials coverage will be streamed on NBC Sports Live Extra via “TV Everywhere,” giving consumers additional value for their subscription service, and making high quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. The NBC Sports Live Extra app is available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire.